WORCESTER Warriors captain Matt Rogerson and scrum-half Lloyd Williams signed off from the sport on a winning note following the club’s play-off final victory against Bedford Blues.
Both Rogerson and Williams announced their retirement from the game at the end of the 2025/26 season.
Warriors named Rogerson club captain following his arrival from Leicester Tigers in the summer.
However, the back row struggled with injuries throughout the campaign which limited his time on the pitch to just seven appearances.
Rogerson missed the club’s play-off semi-final and final victories but played his part off the pitch as Warriors ensured the skipper ended his career on a high note.
Rogerson said: “I appreciate that I was initially going to be staying on for next season, but unfortunately, after some time reflecting and a pretty rough season with injuries, I feel like the time is right.
“I think my body hasn’t lived up to the way I wanted to for the last 12 months – I’ve had to chase it around a little bit to try and get myself on the field.
“Combined with having a young family and having a lot of time away from them at the moment to pursue my career has led me to take this decision.
“But from the bottom of my heart, I really want to thank all the Warriors fans out there for all your support in me joining this club, which has been incredible, and I’ve loved every minute of it, even though it’s been a really challenging year.”
Warriors head coach, Matt Everard added: “Matt was very immediate in my thoughts when coming to the club to bring him here.
“He’s a hugely impressive bloke if I’m honest, the way he goes out being professional, he’s uber professional, a brilliant leader – he’s just like an adder, he adds to people, to the players and coaches.
“He’s supported me hugely and he has been absolutely brilliant both on and off the field.”
Williams started the club’s play-off final victory against Bedford and played in a crucial role in the club’s run to the title.
The 36-year-old scored six tries in 22 appearances for Warriors after moving to Sixways from Ealing Trailfinders.
He enjoyed a stellar playing career and won three Six Nations titles with Wales during a 32-cap stint on the international stage.
Williams said: “It’s kind of a heart and head decision, the heart tells me to keep on playing, but my head is saying I need to start looking after my body and start focusing on the next chapter.
“I’ve had a fantastic year here at Worcester, it’s something I’m really proud of and will look back with a lot of fond memories.
“The fact that this year will be my lasting memory of professional sport as a player is seriously special, the Bath game is up there as one of my favourite memories in rugby.
“To see the fans turn up the way they did, the way we showed up – the whole occasion was pretty special, and I really did have goosebumps running out here at Sixways.
“And the fans here, they deserved that moment.”
Everard added: “Lloyd has had a huge influence on Worcester Warriors – from the way we are as a group, the way we behave with each other, the way we speak to each other – the whole feeling of the club, the playing group and the staff, he’s been a huge part of that.
“He’s also had a very big influence on me personally, supporting me massively in the role – I’m very grateful for Lloydy for that and for how helpful he’s been to me.
“He’s someone who exuberates high performance, how deliberate he is in all his practice and all his training, every little bit of his day he just maximises, and you can see why he’s had the career he’s had.
“I was there at Twickenham that day when he kicked that left-footed grubber for Wales to score that knocked England out of a home World Cup, and that’s just one small, magnified example of his skillset and ability to come on out of position and do that in the heat of the moment.”
